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No, calling someone a Pepsi is definitely NOT similar to calling someone an Anglo, which only means that the person is an English-speaker. And «*Anglo*» used by every French speaker, not only «*Quebec separatists*».
*Yes, "bloke", though it's an innocuous term synonymous with "guy" in most of the Commonwealth and very rarely used in Anglo-Canada and the US these days, is a slur in Quebec.
So even you admit that Quebec has it pretty good. Quebec gets away with undermining Canada at every opportunity not to mention radical ethnocentric legislation aimed at gleefully driving out certain racial groups.
Blah blah blah. Where is the barf emoticon when you need it?
I try to be a thoughtful poster on here, I expect others to act the same way if they want fulsome responses from me.
Not sure about the use of the term "shakedown", which evokes shaking something like a tree to see if any leaves (money) will fall from it to the ground.
Yes, independence is always an option that's always on the table but the Canadian government has pretty much legitimized it through its very own Clarity Act.
Quebec is still not a signatory to the 1982 Constitution and while it nonetheless remains in force (including in Quebec) there are no concrete overtures being made in order to try and get Quebec to sign on and correct this problem when it comes to "optics".
Canada continues to be governed and Quebec continues to be governed. The two governments continue to bounce off one and other in a give and take that also exists between any two entities that co-exist in a federation. (As we are also seeing with Alberta at the moment.)
Separate or not separate, frankly, I don't see any need to rush into that decision. The Bloc may have had a nice haul in the most recent election, but their primary purpose in the Canadian parliament is to represent Quebec's interests in a wider range of issues that span beyond separatism - climate change (cap and trade/carbon tax), major infrastructure projects (the new VIA intercity rail mega project between QC-MTL-Toronto), and Universal Pharmacare (which they are very supportive of along with Liberals and NDP). If the BQ solely focuses on the question of separation - they'd get nothing done because no other major party is interested in that conversation at the moment.
What's even more damning is that a clear majority of Quebec residents has no interest in opening up that question, especially the younger generations. By all intents and purposes, Quebec has already achieved many aspects of "nationhood" - control over migration, control over revenue and taxation (the only province that doesn't subscribe to federal HST), control over healthcare and education, and total control over most cultural domains in Quebec - everything a sovereign nation has minus a standing army. Even in the realm of foreign policy and foreign exchanges, Quebec operates 33 "delegation offices" in over 18 countries via the Quebec Ministry of International Relations - Home - MRIF - Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie
Separate or not separate, frankly, I don't see any need to rush into that decision. The Bloc may have had a nice haul in the most recent election, but their primary purpose in the Canadian parliament is to represent Quebec's interests in a wider range of issues that span beyond separatism - climate change (cap and trade/carbon tax), major infrastructure projects (the new VIA intercity rail mega project between QC-MTL-Toronto), and Universal Pharmacare (which they are very supportive of along with Liberals and NDP). If the BQ solely focuses on the question of separation - they'd get nothing done because no other major party is interested in that conversation at the moment.
What's even more damning is that a clear majority of Quebec residents has no interest in opening up that question, especially the younger generations. By all intents and purposes, Quebec has already achieved many aspects of "nationhood" - control over migration, control over revenue and taxation (the only province that doesn't subscribe to federal HST), control over healthcare and education, and total control over most cultural domains in Quebec - everything a sovereign nation has minus a standing army. Even in the realm of foreign policy and foreign exchanges, Quebec operates 33 "delegation offices" in over 18 countries via the Quebec Ministry of International Relations - Home - MRIF - Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie
Excellent points, Bostonkid. It appears that you and I are in agreement yet again.
The CAQ is doing an excellent job promoting Quebec's interests and the truth is that we are just getting started.
With the BQ now Canada's #3 political party, once can only imagine that much more will be achieved by utilizing Canada as our platform.
First will California secede from the US before Quebec separates from Canada.
That can not happen in America. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts in USA, and once part and parcel, there is no separation. That issue was settled once and for all in 1865. Even Robert E. Lee said as much. Nobody even seriously contemplates that now. The American federal structure is very different than that found in Canada. There is no turning back, and absolutely no provision for leaving in the Constitution.
Also, no matter how disgusted most Americans get with the bubble headed space cadets running California, they absolutely have the right to remain part of the Nation forever. It is chipped in stone.
… By all intents and purposes, Quebec has already achieved many aspects of "nationhood" - control over migration, control over revenue and taxation (the only province that doesn't subscribe to federal HST), control over healthcare and education, and total control over most cultural domains in Quebec - everything a sovereign nation has minus a standing army. Even in the realm of foreign policy and foreign exchanges, Quebec operates 33 "delegation offices" in over 18 countries via the Quebec Ministry of International Relations - Home - MRIF - Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie
One thing puzzles me about your arrangement there. If Quebec is in charge of making it's own decisions about immigration, and Nova Scotia theirs, there appears to be no clear national policy in place. Apparently, Ontario and British Columbia are bound by Nova Scotia's decisions whether it suits them or not, and somebody admitted by Prince Edward Island has full rein in Alberta too? To an American, that is a very strange policy indeed.
One thing puzzles me about your arrangement there. If Quebec is in charge of making it's own decisions about immigration, and Nova Scotia theirs, there appears to be no clear national policy in place. Apparently, Ontario and British Columbia are bound by Nova Scotia's decisions whether it suits them or not, and somebody admitted by Prince Edward Island has full rein in Alberta too? To an American, that is a very strange policy indeed.
It makes perfect sense if you understand Canada's constitution. Under s. 95, provinces can opt to choose their own immigrants, and that is what Quebec has opted to do. So far, no other province has, and Ontario is no more bound by Nova Scotia in immigration matters than it is by British Columbia. In some cases, provinces can "prefer" certain kinds of immigrants--for example, Ontario might want industrial workers--but no guarantees that they will get them. Note that, in all cases, prospective immigrants must fit within the parameters laid down by Canada's federal government, proving that there is a very clear national policy.
Quebec has made a wise decision in controlling its own immigration, in my opinion, since it can select immigrants that speak French--Algerians, Haitians, Senegalese, and so on; as well as those whose native languages are close enough to French so as to make learning French easy--Hispanics, for example. But my point is, that any province of Canada can select its own immigrants under Constitution s. 95; it's just that Quebec is the only one who does so. No other provinces select their immigrants; and again, even in Quebec, all prospective immigrants must fit within the parameters laid down by Canada's federal government--it's national policy.
Note also that under Charter s. 6, immigrants chosen by Quebec might land in the province, but are not required to stay there. They can move to any place in Canada that they wish after landing. They typically don't, if they only speak French and cannot speak English, but they can move anywhere in Canada if they wish.
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